Table 6.

IBD and telemedicine

Author	Study Publication Date	Location	Population	IBD	Study size	Female (%)	Variables	Outcomes
Bilgrami [71]	2020	USA	Caucasian	CD + UC	222	59%	Age, sex, race, insurance status, IBD type disease duration and activity, study site, baseline knowledge score	Changes in self-efficacy scores were not significantly different between control and experimental groups. Patient activation scores were significantly different between standard care and the TELE-IBD every-other-week group only
Cross [31]	2019	USA	Caucasian	CD + UC	348	57%	Disease activity, steroid use	Disease activity and QoL, although improved in all participants (standard of care vs. text weekly vs. texts every other week), were not improved further through use of the TELE-IBD system. TELE-IBD participants experienced a decrease in hospitalizations with an associated increase in non-invasive diagnostic tests, telephone calls and electronic encounters
De Jong [27]	2017	Netherlands	NA	CD + UC	909	58%	Medical center, IBD type, medication (immunosuppressive drugs or biological therapy), age, sex, disease duration, disease activity at baseline, smoking, educational level	The mean number of outpatient visits and hospitalizations were significantly lower in the telemedicine group. At 12 months, both groups reported high mean patient-reported quality of care scores. The mean numbers of flares, corticosteroid courses, emergency visits, and surgeries did not differ between groups
Elkjaer [28]	2010	Denmark, Ireland	NA	UC	333	50%	None	88% of patients randomized to receive web-based disease education and self-treatment preferred using the new approach. Adherence to 4 weeks of acute treatment was increased by 31% in Denmark and 44% in Ireland compared to the control groups. In Denmark IBD knowledge and quality of life were significantly improved in web patients. Median relapse duration was lower in the web versus the control group. The number of acute and routine visits to the outpatient clinic was lower in the web than in the control group, resulting in a saving of 189 euro/patient/year. No difference in the relapse frequency, hospitalization, surgery or adverse events
Chudy-Onwugaje [72]	2018	USA	Caucasian	CD + UC	193	54%	Age, race, sex, health insurance, smoking, IBD type and behavior, age at diagnosis, medication use, inflammatory markers and disease activity scores	Patients with depressive symptoms have high adherence to IBD-specific self-testing when managed in a text messaging-based telemedicine program, specifically in those that were 40 years and younger
Li [26]	2017	USA	NA	CD + UC	53	69%	None	Over 90% felt the telemedicine visits were of adequate duration and their physician understood their disease state during the visit. Over 75% reported they clearly understood the follow-up plan after the visit. Seventy-seven percent preferred to continue to use telemedicine for follow-up. There were no detectable differences in clinical outcomes before and after telemedicine visits, including current steroid use, biologic exposure or health care utilization
McCombie [61]	2014	New Zealand	NA	CD + UC	102	48%	Age, sex, time since diagnosis	Patients were more likely to participate in a computer based than face-to-face intervention. Younger females had a significantly higher acceptability of a computerized intervention than older females. Disease duration was not associated with willingness to participate in a computerized intervention
Quinn [60]	2019	USA	Caucasian	CD + UC	259	47%	None	Patients identified clear benefits of remote monitoring via text messages, including obtaining a better understanding of the disease process, monitoring their symptoms, and feeling connected to their health care provider. They prefer a flexible follow-up system that is personalized, including education messages that can be targeted to individual patients and decreased repetition